Eating Healthy: Kick Start Your New Year’s Resolution

New year, new you. It is 2017, so it is time to make some changes. We tell ourselves we will exercise more and eat better, but it’s hard, right? Here is a healthy recipe of Quinoa Chicken Parmesan, an easy snack idea, and tips to help you kick start better choices and an improved you.

Kaitlyn Scott, a senior outdoor recreation and tourism major with a minor in nutrition, shared one of her favorite recipes, but she does put her own spin on it. She suggests substituting einkorn flour or gluten-free flour instead of all-purpose flour to make your dish even better.

In a large saucepan with 1 1/2 cups water, cook quinoa according to package instructions. Stir in Italian seasoning.

Season chicken with salt and pepper, to taste.

Working in batches, dredge chicken in flour, dip into eggs, then dredge in quinoa mixture, pressing to coat.

Place chicken onto the prepared baking sheet. Place into oven and bake for 20-25 minutes, or until golden brown. Top with cheeses and marinara. Place into oven and bake until cheeses have melted, about 5 more minutes.

Rebecca Larson, clinical instructor of nutrition and food science at Georgia Southern, shared her advice for healthy eating. Larson’s favorite snacks are walnuts and dried apricots because “they’re really portable, and for students, it’s easy to bring to campus.”

Larson said that one of the biggest problems she sees as a nutrition teacher is last minute planning. “If you’re just trying to do it last minute, then of course, you’re never going to keep those New Year’s resolutions because convenience is really important for students,” she said. She suggests planning meals ahead of time and bringing them on campus.

“As far as New Year’s resolutions go, another thing is it’s easy to get sidetracked when you’re hungry,” Larson said. If you plan meals out on a Sunday and go ahead and cook them, it will be easier to resist the temptation of takeout or a frozen TV dinner.

Alison Young, a freshman exercise science major, also offers some advice about keeping your resolutions. “I would say don’t make any huge changes right off the bat, make small attainable changes,” Young said.

Don’t work yourself too hard, or you will get burned out. Set realistic goals for yourself, and don’t forget to “treat yo self” occasionally. You got this!

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Brooke is an English major and is from the two-traffic-light town of Glennville, Ga. When she’s not writing essays or reading literature books bigger than the dictionary, Brooke enjoys binge watching Netflix, adding to her makeup collection and all things “Frozen” (she may or may not have an Olaf pillow pet…). She is currently the Print Editor for the Reflector.